People wearing masks wait to enter a Shop Rite supermarket on April 03, 2020 in Uniondale, New York. (AFP phot…Read More
WASHINGTON: Amid rising concern about the durability and lethality of the Covid-19 coranavirus, including its professed ability to transmit through even regular breathing/exhalation, American health and public safety mandarins are further tightening public health protocols and social distancing norms, even as toll from the pandemic neared 7,000 in America.
New guidelines recommending wearing of masks in public places at all times are expected anytime now, overriding suggestions that only sick people are needed to wear masks. Because of the shortage of masks and the need for higher grade N95 masks by medical personnel, people are being asked to wear any kind of mask, including home-made masks, scarves, bandannas, handkerchiefs etc., under the principle that something is better than nothing.
The updated guidelines follow research results that purportedly show the coronavirus has extraordinary durability and stealth features, including ability to transmit asymptomatically and to stick around in the air and surfaces longer than normal. While a majority of infected people still appear to show mild symptoms and its mortality rate is now thought to